A horse mired up its belly in a Dawson, Texas, mudhole was freed Thursday (April 12) afternoon in an hours-long rescue effort that included heavy equipment.

“Champ” was able to stand on his own after being hauled from the muck, live television coverage in Dallas-Fort Worth showed.

Robin Harpster, who says her family owns the horse, told KDFW television that the horse was fine Wednesday night, but they found it stuck the mud around 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

TV coverage showed a backhoe hauling away buckets of mud as neighbors and other volunteers tried to ease the exhausted animal out